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In this month's IlliniHQ magazine, we catch up with several players, teams and coaches that made an impression while at Illinois. That includes the 2000-01 Big Ten champion Illini men's basketball team, which came within a whisker of reaching the Final Four. Current Parkland coach Nate Mast, a plucky walk-on that year, was kind enough to share his memories of that team of 10 years ago.

The 2000-01 team that Nate Mast so eloquently revisited on the previous page had the perfect blend: lots of basketball talent (three McDonald's All-Americans, three Illinois Mr. Basketballs) and lots of basketball smarts (four future college coaches).

Rob Judson, a likable assistant on that memorable team, is glad that second group didn't grow to five.

SKILLMAN, N.J. — Both Illinois teams are in the Top 25 of the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings. The first rankings for 2011 were announced Tuesday, with the Illini men at No. 16 and the UI women at No. 25. Junior Dennis Nevolo is the top-ranked Illini individual, listed No. 11 in men’s singles. Nevolo and senior teammate Abe Souza are No. 20 in doubles.

How lopsided has the Illinois-Northwestern series been in men's basketball? Since 1980, the Illini are 53-6 against the Wildcats, who on Thursday are aiming for their first back-to-back wins against their state rivals since 1966-67. The only Illini slipups in the last 30 years: